This invention relates to improvements in indicator attachment mechanisms for molded plastic hangers, such as garment hangers and to a method and apparatus for removing indicators from garment hangers.
For purposes of displaying garments suspended on hangers in an orderly and attractive manner to the retail customer, it is often desired to affix an indicating means on the hanger in a position visible to the retail customer while the hanger is suspended on a rack. The indicating means identifies some attribute of the garment suspended from the hanger, such as size, quality, color, manufacturing data, or pattern.
The provision of a readily visible size indicator on a garment hanger is now accepted by retailers as a desirable addition to a garment hanger. To accommodate the various types of hangers available in the industry numerous indicating means have been developed in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials. Similarly, hangers have been developed to accommodate a variety of different indicating means.
In Australian Patent No. 638436 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,354, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, a low-profile molded plastic indicator for a garment hanger which requires limited modification to the hook of the hanger to enable the indicator to be securely attached to the top of the hook where it is most visible is described. The improvements described in the above patents overcame the major disadvantages of one type of indicator (trapezium-shaped) described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,902 which required a specially molded hook profile to support the indicator.
The indicator according to Australian Patent No. 638436 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,354 is also designed to enable sorting into a predetermined orientation to enable automated handling and fitting of the indicators to hangers as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,272,806 and 5,285,566 which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention. For these reasons, the indicator has enjoyed considerable commercial success.
The indicator is retained on the hook by means of at least one abutment projecting from the hook which engages an aperture in the side wall of the indicator. While it is possible to disengage the indicator from the abutment(s) by bowing the side walls in the regions of the apertures, this is a difficult operation and often results in some damage to the indicator or to the hanger.
Furthermore, it is increasingly common for customers to require that the indicator be removable from the hanger for re-use with other sized garments or re-location and the attachment mechanism described above does not readily facilitate this operation. It is, of course, equally necessary for the indicator to remain securely attached to the hanger during the usual handling operations to which the hanger is subjected in day to day use.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved indicator attachment mechanism which securely fastens an indicator to a hanger but which permits removal of the indicator in a simple operation that reduces the likelihood of damage to the indicator or to the hanger.
The invention therefore provides a molded plastic hanger having an indicator attachment device, wherein the hanger has a hook formed with an upstanding web to be received within a downwardly opening cavity of a molded plastic indicator, and attachment means formed on the web to engage and releasably secure the indicator to the web.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the indicator has side walls formed with at least one aperture adapted to receive the attachment means. The attachment means preferably comprises a resilient detent means which is formed in said upstanding web and has a laterally projecting portion positioned to engage the side wall aperture of the indicator to prevent removal of the indicator from the hook. The resilient detent means also enables the laterally projecting portion to be disengaged from the opening to facilitate removal of the indicator from the hook without damage to the indicator or to the hook.
In use, as will be described more fully below, the laterally projecting portion is disengaged from the side wall by inserting a probe or pin through the side wall aperture to displace the laterally projecting portion from the aperture to thereby release the indicator from the hook.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the detent means comprises a downwardly depending leg integrally molded within a molded opening in the upstanding web and resiliently connected to the web to enable deflection of the laterally projecting portion into the plane of the web to facilitate removal of the indicator from the web.
The present invention also relates to a method and apparatus for removing indicators from garment hangers.
The method and apparatus of the present invention provide an extremely versatile arrangement which can accommodate virtually all types of indicators mounted on the hook of a hanger. The method and system can also accommodate a wide variety of hanger types.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a system which includes: a first means for receiving an indicator affixed to a hanger; a second means for securing said hanger for removal of the indicator; actuating means for driving the first and second means upwardly and downwardly; and means for ejecting the indicator. After the indicator is ejected the first plate is driven downwardly to its lower position and the apparatus automatically repeats the operation.
In one embodiment the first means includes a first plate defining a recess, such that the indicator affixed to the hanger is received by the recess. The first means preferably further includes a pin positioned to displace the indicator attachment mechanism.
In operation, the actuating means drives the first plate downwardly to receive the indicator in the recess and then upwardly to remove the indicator from the hanger while the hanger is secured by the second means.
The hangers with indicators affixed thereto can be lined up on a feeding rail which is slanted such that the force of gravity drives the indicator affixed to the hanger into the recess. In a preferred embodiment the second means includes an edge for holding the top region of the hanger to prevent the hanger from moving when the indicator is removed by the upward movement of the first plate. In a particularly preferred embodiment the second means includes a plate which is driven downwardly to separate the hanger undergoing the decapping process from the rest of the hangers on the feeding rail.
The first plate of the present embodiment includes a milled out portion defining a recess substantially corresponding to the shape and dimensions of the indicator such that when the first plate is in its lower position gravity forces the foremost indicator into the recess. The first plate also includes a pin extending from the recess in a position corresponding to the indicator attachment mechanism on the hanger. When the indicator engages the recess of the first plate the pin thereby displaces the indicator attachment mechanism to release the indicator from the hanger. It will be noted that the pin can be positioned in any of several positions provided the configuration of the recess conforms substantially to the exterior dimensions of the indicator. Thus, the system of the present invention is easily adapted to accommodate a variety of indicator configurations.
To remove the indicator from the hanger the first plate is driven upwardly by, for instance, pneumatic cylinder means, when the indicator is resting in the recess of the first plate.
The system further contemplates ejection of the indicator from the recess of the first plate. In one embodiment an aperture is defined in the first plate and the ejection means generates an air blast that passes through the aperture to eject the indicator from the recess. In a preferred embodiment the second means further includes a second plate having a window through which the indicator passes, upon ejection. The window can be dimensioned to accommodate a variety of indicator configurations. A discharge tube can be attached to said second plate such that upon ejection the indicator is removed from the decapping apparatus and collected in a separate device.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a device for manually removing an indicator from a hanger with an indicator attachment mechanism. In a preferred embodiment the device includes a plate with at least one recess for receiving at least a portion of the indicator. The device further includes a pin positioned within the recess such that when the indicator rests in the recess the pin releases the indicator attachment mechanism. In a particularly preferred embodiment the indicator attachment mechanism comprises a resilient detent leg as discussed above which the pin depresses to release the indicator from the hanger.
The device for manually removing the indicators from hangers can include through-holes for mounting to a support such that the operator need not handle the device while manually decapping the hangers. The device can further include more than a single recess and pin such that the device can be used in more than one orientation.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for removing an indicator from a hanger by inserting a pin defined on a first plate into the indicator to displace the indicator attachment mechanism and thereby release the indicator from the indicator attachment mechanism. The method can be performed either manually or automatically.
The automated method for removing the indicator from the garment hanger comprises: holding a plurality of hangers with indicators affixed thereto; selectively engaging one of the indicators; displacing the indicator attachment mechanism and removing the indicator from the hanger.
In one embodiment the method comprises selectively engaging and receiving the indicator affixed to a hanger in a recess of a first plate; inserting a pin included in the first plate into the indicator to displace the indicator attachment mechanism, and removing said indicator from the hanger by carrying the indicator upwardly in the first plate. In a second embodiment the method further contemplates moving the first plate upwardly and aligning said recess with indicator therein with a window in a second plate and ejecting the indicator from the recess through the window into a discharge tube.
Before the indicator is selectively engaged the second plate can be driven upwardly to permit the indicator affixed to the garment hanger to advance along a feeding rail and rest in the recess in the first plate and then downwardly to prevent a second indicator affixed to a second hanger in the plurality of hangers with indicators from advancing. After the indicator is disengaged from the hanger the second plate is moved upwardly to permit the second indicator affixed to the second hanger to advance.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present method the step of displacing the indicator attachment mechanism contemplates depressing a resilient detent leg included in the indicator attachment mechanism with a pin on the first plate to release the indicator from the hanger.